OMWGNOTE: Hi. So this is my take on the 100 Themes Challenge for Big Time Rush. I think, like most authors doing this challenge, that I'll only write themes when I have Writer's Block on a story or am really in the mood to do one. Um, some of these will be slash, but the majority will probably be friendship.
I won't be doing this in order at all, which is why the first theme I'm doing is Seeking Solace. This is dedicated to my best friend Laura, also known as Miss Fenway, because I love her lots and I don't like it when she's sad.
Logan Mitchell wasn't in school on Monday.
Although Kendall Knight, James Diamond, and Carlos Garcia shouldn't be worrying their heads off, they were. For all they knew, Logan could be dead. Although the thought was ridiculous and jumping to conclusions, every time they tried to reassure themselves that Logan was probably feeling under the weather and stayed home from school, their worry always returned full throttle after a few short minutes. The fact that they hadn't seen him since Friday, claiming to have family affairs over the weekend, did not help their worry.
Logan was never one to miss out on school, even if he was sick. Although he knew it wasn't healthy for himself and his peers, Logan would simply take a few Tylenol if he wasn't feeling well and trudge onto school anyway. Not only did he love having perfect attendance, but Logan found his education much more important than if he was feeling a little pukey.
Unlike James, who often skipped school when he didn't do his homework, or Kendall and Carlos, who had a habit of sleeping late, missing their bus, and feigning sickness so they didn't have to go in, Logan always liked going to school. He lived for the new knowledge that came with each class, even if he already knew most of it.
Logan's love of learning and extreme efforts to make sure he was in school was why Kendall, Carlos and James were so concerned. From what they could remember, Logan had only missed two days of school; one was for his great grandmother's funeral, and even then he had showed up to first period so he didn't miss the lesson. The second was his 13th birthday, and his parents had literally flat-out refused to let him go to school and instead had a day of fun with him. Even then, Logan still didn't like the prospect of skipping.
So Kendall, James and Carlos' worries are justified, or at least that's what they're telling themselves. The first half of the day goes by agonizingly slow, filled with the boys squirming in their seats and sending nervous glances at each other in the few classes they have together. Luckily, Logan's empty seat is only glaring at them in health, for Logan's smarts put him in the smarter classes. He's even the only sophomore to be taking Advanced Placement Biology.
By the time lunch rolls around, the three of them are still incredibly worried.
"Do you think something's wrong?" Carlos asked, paying no attention to the corn dog in front of him. On any other day, it would mean the Carlospacalypse had arrived, but it was understandable now.
Kendall gave him a look. "Of course something is wrong!" He exclaimed. "I mean, why else would Logan be absent?" The question isn't rhetorical. He wanted James or Carlos to answer him, because if they came up with a valid reason then he would be feeling much better.
But they didn't. Carlos stared at his corn dog with a puzzle expression and James was staring at his lap. When Kendall peeked over his shoulder, he saw James typing away at his phone.
He was about to scold James for texting, because really, this was a dilemma they were dealing with and James thought it was appropriate to text. But then Kendall saw the name Logie written across the top, and a message saying, "Logan, is there something wrong?" and he seriously wondered why he didn't think of that earlier.
James knew that Kendall was watching him, and once he finished the text and slipped the phone back into his pocket, he turned to his best friend with a sad expression on his face.
"Don't get your hopes up," He said, noting Kendall's optimistic attitude. "I've sent him three texts already. He hasn't answered to any of them."
And just like that, Kendall's hopes were crushed. Because if Logan's not answering, there's definitely something wrong. But with a pang of sorrow, he realized that he wouldn't be able to talk to Logan unless he came to school tomorrow. Of course Kendall knew where Logan lived, but their houses were a ways apart from each other. Kendall's mother wouldn't want Kendall walking that far by himself (God knows he's tried it before) and he couldn't just show up to Logan's house unannounced. So he'll just have to settle for calling Logan, and praying that he picks up.
After hockey practice, which of course Logan wasn't at, Kendall stumbled into his house sore and still cold from the cool temperature of the rink.
"Dinner's going to be soon," His mother told him, walking into the kitchen. Kendall mumbled an incoherent response, walking past where Katie was watching FOX and trudging up the stairs to his bedroom.
All he really wanted to do was flop on his bed and sleep for the rest of the night, but he has homework that he'll probably do a half-ass job on and he remembered that he needed to call Logan. Kicking off his shoes, he reached for his backpack and took out his phone, throwing his backpack on the floor afterwards.
He flipped open his phone and began dialing the number he knew by heart. He pressed send once the last digit was in, and the name Logie popped up on his screen as he pressed the phone to his ear.
It rang once, twice, three times. Kendall was beginning to grow worried after the fourth ring, because he knew that if Logan didn't pick up soon it was going to cut to voicemail and then Kendall was going to be even more worried. But to his relief, Logan's voice sounded in his ear and he seriously had to fight to stop himself from sighing in relief.
"Logan, hey," He said casually. "You weren't in school today."
He heard Logan sigh from the other line. "Yeah, I know," He said, and Kendall noticed how tired Logan sounded. There was something else in his friend's voice that he couldn't place, but he didn't think much of it.
"Why not?" Kendall asked.
Logan sighed again. "I just," He said. "I was just really tired this morning and I didn't feel well, and I knew that if I was feeling so crappy I wasn't going to do well in class."
Kendall nodded, but then realized Logan couldn't see him. "Oh," He said lamely. "Well I hope you feel better, buddy. But maybe give us a head-up next time? You're hardly ever absent and you really had us worried, especially when you weren't texting James back."
"Yeah, sorry," Logan said. "I've been sleeping all day." There was a pause for a moment, an awkward silence that was rare between the two of them.
Logan broke it. "Hey Kendall, I have to go. James is calling from the other line and—oh wait, Carlos is too. Probably wondering the same thing you are." He sighed for the third time, and Kendall realized how truly tired he sounded. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright? I'll definitely be in school."
"Alright, Logan," He said. "I'll see you tomorrow. Feel better, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," Logan said, and then Kendall's met with silence from the other end. He pulled the phone away from his ear to see his home screen, signifying his call with Logan had ended. He ran a hand through his hair, setting his phone on the bed next to it.
He didn't know why, but the nagging feeling that Logan just lied to him was filling his thoughts. It plagued him through dinner, when he did his homework, and right before he went to bed that night.
As promised, Logan was in school the next day. He put on a smile and greeted each of his friends, but after knowing Logan for eleven years, the boys knew him better than the fake smiles he gave them. After putting up with his fake smiles and obviously feigned cheeriness, the boys cornered Logan in the janitor's closet when they were supposed to be in lunch.
Technically, they weren't supposed to be in the janitor's closet. They could get into a lot of trouble if they were caught. But they didn't really care, because they needed to talk to Logan in private and the lunch table just wasn't doing it for them.
"We wanna know what's wrong," Carlos said bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest.
Logan looked at the three of them with a confused look on his face. "Nothing's wrong," He said slowly, putting his acting skills to the test. But they didn't work, because the boys could easily see right through him.
"You lie!" James exclaimed, pointing a finger at him. Kendall nudged him, telling him to be quieter without words. "You lie!" James repeated more quietly. "That's like—that's like saying that I don't love my hair, or that Kendall wouldn't pick hockey over his mom—" This earned protest from the blonde boy, but James continued anyway, "Or saying that Carlos hates corn dogs. None of those are true!"
"It's nothing really," Logan said, his resolve beginning to waver. "I'm just still really tired."
Kendall shook his head, not buying the lie. "It's more than that, Logan," He said, putting a hand on his friends shoulder. "Something's bothering you. We can tell. You know you can tell us anything, right?"
Logan was going to protest, he really was, but seeing the look on his three best friends' faces, he sighed, giving in.
"Alright," He said quietly. "I think my mom is hiding something from me."
"Why would you think that?" Carlos asked immediately, moving to sit cross-legged on the floor. The other three boys followed his example, forming a circle, all eyes on Logan.
Logan took a deep breath. "Well she started getting sick last Thursday," He said, looking at the floor. "And at first I thought nothing of it, because people get sick all the time. But she got even worse on Friday, and I offered to stay home and take care of her, but she made me go to school." He looked up at his friends then, on the verge of tears. "And then we were taking a test on diseases in AP Bio, and of course cancer was on there, and I don't know. I guess I sort of started panicking and even though I knew all the information, I sort of blinked. I got it back today. I got a B-. Not even a high B-, either. An 80. One point away from getting a C+."
To Kendall, Carlos and James, this wasn't a big deal. But to Logan, it was the world.
"And she kept getting worse over the weekend, and then yesterday I finally convinced her to let me stay home and help take care of her," He continued quietly. "And I just—I know it's stupid and I'm jumping to conclusions, but I'm terrified she has cancer like my great grandma did. A lot of people on her side of the family had it too." His voice broke then, tears finally escaping his eyes. "And I mean, I miss my grandma and it sucks that she died, but she's not my mom. And if my mom dies, I—I don't know what I'll do." His voice cracked on the last word.
Immediately James scooted closer to Logan and pulled his now crying friend into a hug, running his hand up and down Logan's back. Kendall and Carlos followed James' example and enveloped Logan in a four-way hug.
"Logie, I'm sure she's going to be fine," James said softly. But Logan shook his head and mumbled something so quietly that none of the boys could hear.
Kendall chose to ignore the comment, assuming it was pessimistic. "Listen, even if she's not okay, and she has cancer, it's going to be really hard. But you know that we'll be here for you every step of the way."
"Always," Carlos added.
Logan sat up, wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "I know," He said. "I'm just—I'm worrying too much. I'm sure she'll be fine. Thanks for cheering me up."
The bell that tells them lunch is over rang then, startling the four of them. They hadn't realized how long they had been in the janitor's closet. Before the throttle of students come down the hallway, the four of them quickly slip out of the closet and shut the door behind them.
"Thanks again, guys," Logan said, waving goodbye and going to his next class. Whether his mom was going to be okay or not, he knew that whatever happened was going to happen with his best friends by his side.
OMWGNOTE: Wow, I wrote this pretty quickly. Um, Icabod, I hope you like this and I hope you feel better. I don't know if I like this a lot but it's my attempt at Loganangst to maybe cheer you up. –heart-
Review please and thank you. I have no idea when the next theme is coming but it probably won't be too long.